waywardstraysau

[waywardstraysau]

Have you seen the announcement for Lars in the Stars?

Yes I have and I'm very excited to see what they have in store with the new series!

[waywardstraysau]

Wayward Tides is back baby!

Someone got sick of their constant arguing in class lol.

The two Hunters proceeded to argue through the entire shift and learned nothing at all from the experience since idiot tourists don’t hold a candle to the shit both of them have already taken from just being a part of the Emperors Coven. These two are like oil and water (for now) and will prioritize antagonizing their altar over any other school related priority purely due to their vastly oppositional worldviews.

And for those who are confused, the purple haired boy is another version of Hunter from my personal AU I don’t feel comfortable with plugging on this piece because I don’t want to take advantage of the recent influx of traffic the Wayward Strays blog has been getting (deservedly so). I make this fan art purely out of love for this series and my own amusement with these two interacting

~Mod Nightmare

[waywardstraysau]

If I find out someone has fed the Wayward Strays manuscript to a chatbot, I will (proverbially) set you on fire and you will be permanently banned from interacting with this account

This is your one and only warning everyone-I do not take feeding a machine the creativity of others lightly

INSTANT. BLOCK. FOREVER.

Do not test me

~Mod Nightmare

[waywardstraysau]

Letting me readers know about this nonsense. Don't bother with engaging if you get something like this, do as the OP says and continue to write.

PSA

Just a heads up, there are bots going around on AO3 accusing people of using AI. Considering the timing, this is likely AI bros' retaliation for AO3 users calling them out for scraping their work. Examples of what you might be sent:

Screenshots from here.

If you get a comment like this, just report for spam and delete.

[waywardstraysau]

Welcome back to Mod Nightmare’s “Screenshot Redraw” Series!

Spoilers for the end of the most recent chapter below!!

Hunter is learning empathy for someone other than bio family!

He is horrified by his big brothers situation :)

(I also assume this dumbass would be wearing his whole Golden Guard uniform for movie night)

[waywardstraysau]

Just finished re-watching Steven Universe. And well, I've been thinking about this since rewatching the episode Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service. At the school, has Steven ever accidentally entered someone's dream like he did to Kiki?

He has, yes, but so far he's been lucky in that the dreams have been mild, no nightmares or anything. Everyone being in therapy has helped with that.

[waywardstraysau]

Movie night was serious business for the students at the School for Wayward Youths, popcorn was popped, bags of chips were shared and cans of soda were cracked open. It was no small affair, especially since it seemed more than half of the student body was there. Luz could barely believe her eyes as she entered the TV room, some students were sitting on the furniture, others were sprawled out on the floor, and a few floated in the air. It was like one of those slumber parties she’d see on TV, but more chaotic, and it was honestly kind of beautiful in her eyes. As soon as they had entered the room, King ran to join the fun, and Hunter… well he had refused to join at first, saying he had to focus on finding a way home. She had countered with the fact the Human Realm was full of stories about going to other worlds. There were so many, one just might hold the key to getting back. He found the idea that there were that many human stories that dealt with going to other worlds highly unlikely. Luz then showed him three different TvTropes pages on the matter and he reluctantly agreed to join with the others.

TUMBLR'S CHARACTER LIMIT WON'T LET ME POST THE FULL CHAPTER HERE, PLEASE READ IT ON AO3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36839632/chapters/167034946

[waywardstraysau]

I got my copy of the Book of Bill... and now I'm stuck babysitting him. Axolotl owes me big for this. Evil little dorito.

[waywardstraysau]

Gettin my copy tomorrow!

HE HAS RETURNED!!!

[waywardstraysau]

HE HAS RETURNED!!!

[waywardstraysau]

“...what are we waiting for exactly?” Hunter asked with his arms crossed. It was now Thursday, classes had just wrapped up and their first week at the school was coming to an end. At Teodora’s insistence, the Boiling Isles trio were waiting outside the front door of the school, she had said there was something she needed them for and to wait for her.

“I dunno, she made it sound like it was important though,” Luz said, shrugging her shoulders.

With the implication that they were going somewhere, Hunter had chosen against his Golden Guard uniform and was wearing his more casual clothes; the cloak and bits of armor would have made him stick out like a sore thumb. King, for his part, was hidden in Luz’s messenger bag, partially to be somewhere inconspicuous, partially to avoid walking everywhere on such short little legs.

They didn’t have to wait too long before a car, a Dondai Supremo, pulled up and parked in front of them. The passenger window rolled down, revealing Teodora, she had donned a pair of dark sunglasses. She lowered while grinning widely at them and quoted,

“Get in losers, we’re going shopping!” **PLEASE READ THE FULL CHAPTER ON A03, TUMBLR'S CHARACTER LIMIT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO POST THE FULL THING HERE!** Here

[waywardstraysau]

Roll to the left. No, nothing. Roll to the right. No, still nothing. With an aggravated huff, Luz reached over and grabbed her phone, checking the time. 12:35 AM. She groaned and let her arm fall over her eyes. It was official, she couldn’t sleep. She had found herself insatiably restless following their first therapy session and now wanted nothing more than to do… something! Between meeting so many new friends, learning about magic from the human realm, and her first therapy session, it left her buzzing with energy. She could hear King snoring down by her feet and she smiled a bit, sleep came so easily to him, she was almost jealous. A quick glance to the left and she could make out the sound of Tulip sleeping soundly. She reached under her pillow and pulled out the sleeping potion she had made earlier in class. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to drink it so late, it would help her sleep but she’d most likely be groggy in the morning. She sighed and hid the vial back under her pillow before sitting up and swinging her legs out from under the covers. She was feeling restless and the need to move refused to be ignored. Plus she hadn’t heard a single word about there being a rule that students couldn’t be out of bed during the night, so it should probably be fine. **PLEASE READ THE FULL CHAPTER ON A03, TUMBLR'S CHARACTER LIMIT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO POST THE FULL THING HERE!**

Here

[waywardstraysau]

Hunter and Diamond

DT! Hunter assists “Evil” Morty in a trip through the Event Horizon

……….

Morty had a tail he couldn’t shake as of late. A personal investigation into C-137’s ex from outside the Curve, Stanford Pines, had opened a door for him he’d not considered before-a freedom to pursue his own interests under the protection of another, FAR away from any and all versions of Rick Sanchez. Hell, the school had its own Anti-Rick protocols, a haven Morty hadn’t even dared considered the possibility of.

The subsequent move to the dormitories was one of the easiest decisions Morty had ever made. Sadly, just because the decision was easy, didn’t mean it came without consequence.

The consequence in question being some sort of sentient shadow creature Ford Pines assigned to give him a tour. One that now REFUSED to leave him alone for more than a few hours-and even managed to follow him through his portals.

So now, he had some chatterbox of a shadow cryptid following him through most of his trips to the Event Horizon.

Said cryptid was currently several dozen yards away admiring a glowing flower while Morty was setting up a trap for the creature he needed to harvest. Upgrades for his Portal Gun required a lot of compounds that could only be harvested from an environment constantly exposed to interference from multiple universes.

Thus, the Event Horizon was a perfect wild interdimensional farm, all he had to do was come harvest materials when they matured properly. Sometimes it meant killing shit much larger than himself, so he resigned himself to his fate of conversing with the shadow creature, and turned to address it.

“If you don’t want to die, I suggest fucking off back home” Morty informed his company flatly while opening a portal back to the school, knowing Ford would probably get pissed if he let one of his “peers” die while on an excursion with him. “There’s your door-be gone by the time I return”

“Where’s the fun in that?“ the creature hummed, moving to follow as Morty headed off into the brush, pulling up the sensor in his eyepatch. “Observing you at work is the most interesting thing I can be doing with my time-it’s like watching a younger me lure heretics to their demise with double the IQ”

“I’m not surprised cultists are responsible for your existence” Morty grumbled, adjusting the settings on his eyepatch to zero in on the genetic signature of his target. “Just a disclaimer, you die out here and I’m using that artificial heart of yours as a power source for a gundam or some shit”

“Ooh, now you’ve got me curious about something-how old do you think I am, Mortimer?” The creature asked, morphing into an elegant cat to settle on his shoulders and rest its chin and paws on his head. “How old is the “Shadow Cryptid” in that fascinating mind of yours?”

“I dunno, a couple decades to a few centuries? Your lack of concern towards any perilous situation gives the impression” Morty replied, knowing ignoring the creatures questioning led to a hours of irritation. “I’m assuming you just slipped out of Ford’s primitive Portal at some point and never left”

“Ooh, that’s an interesting answer-and I don’t think it can be further from the truth!” The creature cackled, pushing itself up so it could look Morty in the eyes from over the back of his head. “THAT reveal got your cogs turning, didn’t it?”

“Nope” Morty lied, filing the creatures answer away for later pondering. “Get out of my face, I still need to navigate”

“Mmm” the creature relented, pulling its head back out of his line of sight to get comfy. The rest of the trek to the target was blissfully silent, interrupted only by the creatures occasional sounds of intrigue towards seemingly random plants or rocks.

Once they were finally in the creatures potential line of sight, Morty quickly crouched low, not caring to account for the annoying being on his head, and peeked around the rock formation at the large, nameless creature. It appeared reptilian at this distance, but previous scans had shown it was actually warm blooded in origin, its “scales” mineral deposits growing out of the skin. Their composition depended on their environment, and since the Event Horizon was an ecosystem of pure chaos over the entire multiverse, it had been developing a perfect crystal through its head Morty could use as a refractor for his Neo Portal Gun-alongside many other projects.

“Ooh, you wanna race to the trap after you piss the big guy off?” The cat shaped being asked excitedly, jumping off Morty’s head and onto the side of the boulder to meet his gaze, disinterested in following any rules of physics. “We can make things interesting with a forfeit for the loser~”

“I’m not stupid enough to wager with something like you” Morty retorted, loading his gun and setting it to “Stun”, as the creature required a lot more firepower to take out than a handheld laser pistol. He took a deep breath and took aim at the creatures ballsack. “Just stay out of my way”

*BLAM!*

The instant his target took notice of him, Morty turned tail and booked it back towards the pre-set trap, not caring if his “companion” bothered to keep pace or was already back at the clearing via the unspecified nature of his abilities. The chase itself was rather mundane, as the creature was just slow enough to evade with minimal effort-though one trip up would definitely be a death sentence, considering the previous days observations.

After about three minutes, the clearing was upon them, and just before Morty himself ran face-first into the invisible laser grid trap, he dove for the ground and rolled through the opening underneath, popping back up just in time to witness-

“Oh-FUCK!”

Morty barely evaded the heavy six clawed foot swiping down towards him as the fact he’d indeed set the trap but forgot to ACTIVATE the fucking thing registered, having instead opted to trade dialogue with his unwanted company.

Morty took another dive and tried to get some distance between himself and the predator, as it would give him time to come up with an escape, but a paw slammed into his side to knock him off course into the nearest rock spire, both taking his breath away and cracking several ribs in the process.

There was a bit of a stumble, Morty making a valiant attempt to at least regain his footing, but instead he fell to his knees, looking towards the creature just to see the entities entire mouth nanoseconds away from decapitating him with one bite.

His life passed by in a hasty flash, full of ultimately wasted sacrifice, before something knocked the creature off course.

“Not today, you cheap-knockoff Basarios” Morty’s company growled loudly, backflipping off his attackers side as it stumbled back a few feet, crouching low with his lips pulled back while the rock creature turned its attention to him. “If you can understand me, fuck off. This is your only warning”

The four legged golem just screeched in response, lunging at the much smaller figure with an open mouth-

Only to be violently ripped apart midair from what seemed to be a single magic circle quickly drawn in its direction, with only the target crystal remaining intact as the remains crashed to the ground around Morty’s surprise savior. The creature itself didn’t even look phased, simply lowering their hand and relaxing their posture, the cold, calculative expression they’d briefly taken melting away into something less frightening.

Morty moved into a more comfortable sitting position while he regained his breath and processed what just happened. The shadow being took that time to scoop up the undamaged crystal and give it a cursory inspection, before tucking it under its arm and trotting over to Morty, sitting down on its knees and placing the object between them. Morty looked warily between the crystal and the creature, before shooting a portal underneath the mineral so it fell into a tub of cleaning solution back in his lab.

Once the object was gone, an awkward silence followed, Morty waiting for the creature to say something-either a claim for a life debt or demand for some sort of compensation.

“I’m sorry” the creature apologized instead, averting their eyes as Morty just stared at them, unsure how to respond. “I can’t heal or anything, and you wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the first place if I wasn’t distracting you”

“What in-“ Morty started, before cutting himself off and taking a deep breath to reorient his thoughts. “Apology not accepted, first off. Second, what the actual FUCK was that and how did you do do it?”

“Magic” the creature replied flatly, as if that was the obvious answer. “And stop referring to me as an “It”. It’s both insulting and misgendering”

“When exactly have I referred to you as “it” at any point in this “adventure”?” Morty asked sarcastically, making the creature snort in amusement.

“The whole fucking time, Mortimer. My name is Hunter, use it” Faux Hunter replied, as Morty knew he’d been copying another student at school, one he’d seen for himself during that initial tour. However, the shapeshifter seemed to get more agitated out of nowhere. “I’m not an imitation dipshit-I AM Hunter, or “A Hunter” in terms you can understand. Ricks and Mortys aren’t the only people in the universe who have alternate variations of themselves”

“Are-have you been reading my mind this whole time!?” Morty retorted, feeling a little violated as Hunter gave him a flat look and a slow clap.

“Congratulations-you finally caught on. YES, I’ve been reading your mind” Hunter replied, looking both amused and disappointed all at once. “It’s not like I’ve been hiding it-I literally suggested a race back to the trap despite you not explaining your plans less than five minutes ago”

“… I thought you were just observant” Morty replied hesitantly, feeling a little dumb for the first time in months.

“Dude, I have no concept of how any of your sci-fi bullshit works, and I’d absolutely be failing in that subject if Jack wasn’t my friend” Hunter admitted, looking a little amused with himself. “I got really lucky-the other Hunter didn’t get adopted by my dad. He still believes that an emotionally abusive old fuck of an uncle is the pinnacle of familial love”

“THAT’S why you wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone!” Morty shouted, the pieces FINALLY fitting together regarding the bizarre teen. “You saw my memories of Rick-“

“-And found they GREATLY paralleled my own experiences, yeah. Though your abusive old fuck certainly hit you a lot less” the older boy mused, settling into a more comfortable sitting position. “I’ll tell ya, I didn’t think I’d find someone with a higher kill count than me at Fords little institution-especially someone who killed their abuser MULTIPLE TIMES. Tell me, did the thrill ever die hunting those grandson-cloning sociopathic bastards?”

“Absolutely” Morty admitted, knowing lying wouldn’t get him anywhere at the moment. “I took to just offing them over breakfast once I got bored from the chase-and it eliminated the problem of killing a Rick with no Morty to swipe for masking purposes”

“Clever boy-oh holy shit, I just saw what you did next. Almost expired from the same oversight you took advantage of, huh?” The other boy chuckled, before miming a gun firing in the exact same spot Morty had been shot. “You’re lucky those Rick’s didn’t learn the same lesson-otherwise your plan would’ve gone to hell”

“Yeah, well that’s the fatal flaw with Ricks-their arrogance” Morty hummed, pulling a stick out of the ground to inspect. “They all abuse their Morty’s in some way or another yet never considered the possibility that one of us might just-“

He snapped the stick in two.

“Oh, if only Belos were so fatally arrogant. Sadly he’s just as paranoid as he is manipulative” Hunter bemused, tail tip twitching in thought. “I could learn a thing or two from you, if you’d be willing to teach”

“Not like I can get you to fuck off anyway” Morty sighed, feeling oddly warm in contrast to the statement. He fished the Portal Gun out of his belt holster and opened the warp back to his lab, giving the other boy a flat stare as they both stood up. “This didn’t make us friends, don’t expect me to join you and the Christmas duo at lunch any time soon”

“I’ll wear you down eventually” Hunter retorted with a grin, and the two of them vanished into the portal.

Three days later, Morty showed up on time for lunch and without a word, joined Hunter, Edric, and Jack at their usual table.

[waywardstraysau]

Guard Dog

[waywardstraysau]

[waywardstraysau]

Hey guys, sorry for the radio silence, I've been busy and dealing with a lot IRL lately but I have a new PC and I can start producing a lot more content than before! And to start, I've officially opened a ko-fi! If you feel like supporting me and my art, please consider leaving me a tip!

[waywardstraysau]

What do you mean this wasn't in the original JTTW?